1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of lubricant distributor valves, and more particularly to lubricant distributor valves which are constructed, adapted and arranged to operate cyclically, that is, to meter and discharge a predetermined quantity of lubricant to each of a number of points of use, such as bearings, in a sequence.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Lubricant distributor valves of the type generally described above are known in the art and are commonly referred to as series progressive divider valves. Most often, such valves are constructed of a number of separate valve blocks which are sandwiched together between an inlet block unit and an end block unit, with all of the units being held together by bolts. This type of construction enables the various units to be separated and removed from each other for cleaning, repair and, if necessary, replacement of one or more units.
Such a progressive series divider valve is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,425, wherein each of the valve blocks has an identical structure, and wherein each valve block is formed by two parts, namely a base part and a feeder part in the form of a spool member, the spool member having a bore within which a movable spool is disposed. By means of suitable hydraulic circuitry, the respective spools in the series of valve units are progressively operated so as to cause lubricant to be cyclically distributed from an output port in each valve unit. The number of valve units which are employed for a given purpose is dependent on the number of locations requiring lubrication, with more identical valve units simply being added on as needed.
The base member and the spool member in each valve unit are held together by bolts extending through both parts, so that the parts can be separated for the aforementioned purposes of cleaning, repair or replacement.
An advantage of this type of structure for a series progressive divider valve is that, because of the identical structure of each valve unit, manufacture and assembly are greatly simplified. Because of the identical structure of each valve unit, however, the location and interconnection of each of the lubricant output ports of the overall assembly cannot be varied within the divider valve itself, and if such variation is desired for a particular application, additional valving and/or lubrication delivery lines must be employed in combination with the valve assembly.